Is it okay to move down from a 195/65/r15 to a 185/65/r15 tire?
Just picked up a 2013 corolla with 10.5k miles. Original tire size on the corolla is 195s. We sold a Kia Rio with 185 Michelin Defenders on it with only 7k miles with warranty. Looking to see if it’s okay to move the Michelin’s over to the corolla despite moving down in width, going against corollas spec tire size.
If you drive only in the city at low speeds, then sure. However, if you drive on the highway often, at high speeds, stick to your stock tyre width (or wider).
Realise messing with your tyre geometry may cause your ABS & TCS to malfunction or may cause premature wear of your suspension.
We need it primarily for highway speeds due to it now being a work car.
Car is in phenomenal condition and don’t want to harm the engine or tranny by going down in tire width to simply keep a warranty on some tires.
Essentially potential for harm out weighs the cost?
Doubt you’ll harm the engine or tranny with just 10mm of difference, however at highway speeds, I’d ideally stick to a minimum of stock size. Better safe than sorry. Have you got any good offers on your Michelin’s from Craigslist?
You want to put 10 mm thinner tyres. I had ones on my 2002 Suzuki Swift AWD when I bought it. I did not notice any problem in driving, cornering etc. And I don't drive slowly.
Keep in mind there is a risk if you get involved in an accident or get stopped and police throw their eyes on your tyres.
they are thinner AND smaller diameter
@mountainmanjoe
You are right
Well, … not really, diameter of the tire drops from 25 in. to 24.4 in., so revolution per mile travelled goes up from 833 to 855. This means your speed will be out of whack, … your actual speed will be lower than indicated. But what a heck, if you driving just in town, … it will work, you won’t die! And your Corolla will feel more zippy! [… and in snow, probably more grippy!]
F.S.
He is talking about width. The diameter remains same.
If we need it for primarily highway speeds it wouldn’t be worth it then overall?
P.S., … for winter, we pretty well every time get a narrower tire for a snow tire, … often even smaller rim diameter by an inch, but we always,…always!, match the tire diameter! We sometimes even drop speed rating, … say, if OEM rating is H, we get a T rated tires. It’s all legal, … and works quite well, … fwiw.
F.S.
@G.T. If the aspect ratio remains the same, for a decrease in width, the diameter will decrease.
If you use it for highway driving, difference would be that your indicated speed would actually be a bit more, … say, at indicated 60 miles/ hr. , you will be moving at bit more than 58 miles/hr., … about 3% spread.
Anyway, … if speed rating of tires is the same, and you still have a bunch of tread on it, and tires are not older than, say, 4 years, … go ahead, use them, wear them out! No trouble, …
F.S.
I wouldn’t need to worry about the tranny or engine with a move like this?
Not really. All it will mean that after odometer indicated 100 mile travel, you only travelled just ~97 miles. Engine and transmission, for practical purposes, does not care. Additional wear and tear on the drive train will be insignificant, … unmeasurable!
F.S.
@figmund-sreud
You are right, I had to look again 😀
@cris_
I used it on highways and did not have any problems. And I pushed the car near its top speed
The difference is at most 6%, which shouldn't pose too much of an issue.
Take them for a test drive and make sure that it doesn't feel too weird. You may find that the car doesn't turn as tightly.